Medeski Martin & Wood w/ John Scofield 12/9/06 @ The Vic

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Deftones 12/8/06 @ The Riviera

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Gov't Mule 12/9/06 @ The Riviera

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Brad Paisley 12/8/06 @ The Allstate Arena

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Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band 11/30/06 @ The Allstate Arena

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Bare Naked Ladies / Mike Doughty 11/16/06 @ Allstate Arena

The Allstate Arena seemed like a somewhat unlikely sight for Barenaked Ladies these days, especially since the band's a few years past its commercial prime. Despite the lack of a major label push, the group had no problem filling a respectable amount of the venue thanks to its die-hard supporters and continuously expanding marketing tactics, which not only include the physical and digital release of the brand new Barenaked Ladies Are Me (Desperation) but also through USB flash drives, ring tones and in multi-track formats for remixing and streaming. The group even went so far as to have fans contribute to its latest music video "Wind It Up," with the contest winning entry being broadcast at www.bnlmusic.com.While the new material was certainly a priority on the current tour, the Ladies were sure to incorporate ample amounts from the past fifteen years, including vibrant renditions of the sing-a-long "The Old Apartment" and the quirky "Too Little Too Late." Indeed dueling vocalists Ed Robertson and Steven Page have always written from a tongue in cheek perspective that was also apparent throughout the sunny new song "Bank Job" and the always witty "Barenaked Rap," which the band created on the spot based on a day of Chicago sightseeing. Another laugh out loud moment came with a slapstick chorography skit that featured the guys poking fun at the boy band craze (which is luckily completely dead these days). However, the group was more than just a mixture or overt and couched comedy, also unveiling many vintage influences of groups from yesteryear.Much of the Are Me album crossed the classic stylings of the Beach Boys and a general swath from the surf era, while the older "Brian Wilson" is still one of the band's most endearing that subtly tipped its hat to the legendary songwriter. The fresh cut "Wind It Up" and the Stunt standard "It's All Been Done" were loaded with particularly meaty melodies, recalling long lost visions of summer for the windy city. Even though it was one of the band's biggest hits, "One Week" hasn't aged all that gracefully and came across somewhat silly when compared to the more astute selections. Fan favorite "If I Had $1000000" was also a little too long winded for its own good, though at least no one could accuse the players of shortchanging the crowd. By the time they finished the finale ballad "Call and Answer," the set clocked in at a generous, career spanning two hours and fifteen minutes.Opening act the Mike Doughty Band turned in about forty-five minutes, but like any arena endeavor, had a hard time connecting with latecomers rushing to find their seats. The one time front man for Soul Coughing and his three piece band also followed the Ladies' humorous tradition, often cracking worthwhile jokes between sets, including what types of objects and body parts they'd be willing to sign at an intermission meet and greet. The troubadour and his band played most of last year's Haughty Melodic (ATO), though a colorful cover of Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler" was the closest they came to hitting a sweet spot.

Review by Andy Argyrakis @ www.concertlivewire.com

The Sounds 11/26/06 @ Metro

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Wolfmother 11/25/06 @ Riviera Theatre

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Brazilian Girls 11/25/06 @ Metro

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moe. 11/24-11/25 @ The Chicago Theatre

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The Black Keys 11/24-11/25 @ Vic Theatre

Here's a Review From ConcertLiveWire.com By Andy Argyrakis, Do You Agree or Disagree?

Since quitting their day jobs of mowing lawns and fixing apartments as a pair, singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney took up the full-time reigns of their band The Black Keys. At first, their local Akron, Ohio gigs took awhile to fill up, but after limping around for the first few years, they slowly amassed a grassroots following, hit the road and scored a deal with Fat Possum. From there, they've spent the better part of the 2000s jumping from one prominent tour to the next, such as opening slots for Beck and Radiohead, plus several solo headlining jaunts. Robert Plant is a fan, Rolling Stone loves the band and its current record label Nonesuch is also the home to Wilco and David Byrne.All those examples of consistent growth continued when The Black Keys returned to the windy city, starting with the fact the group booked two shows at the Vic Theatre (signaling the end of opening act status). In the first of the back to back engagements, the pair pummeled away at the majority of 2006's Magic Potion, along with a smattering of the past four years, confirming their ditching of labor for artistic love was a fruitful decision. From their first few seconds on stage, it was clear the guys have increased in both confidence and chemistry levels, unleashing with scalding power and deep fried licks. In one sense, The Black Keys could be considered similar to The White Stripes, though many of those comparisons come because each group operates with only two members. Like the Stripes, the sounds come across much thicker than the amount of players and there is a certain sense of garage-derived vintage rock n' roll, but these Keys also have a lock down deep in the Delta-blues. Take for instance the snarling "Girl Is On My Mind" or the raucous "Your Touch," two thick fisted examples of their alternative undercurrent and soulful howls. There were also several times when those rootsy groans were mixed with psychedelic shock bolts, such as "Elevator" and "No Thrust," some of the set's most punchy sonic tornados.Fans of the late great bluesman R.L. Burnside would've probably fallen in love with "You're the One," while more rock oriented Led Zeppelin listeners could've connected come "Just Got To Be," (which further cemented why Plant's a fan). Yet The Black Keys were rarely derivative during their 90-minute set, taking everyone's favorite instrumental elements, combining them in a high speed blender and then shedding through any preconceived notions with scratchy singing, smoky chords and searing percussion. intricacy.

http://www.concertlivewire.com/blackkeys.htm

Wilco 11/24-11/25 @ Auditorium Theatre

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My Morning Jacket 11/24/06 @ Riviera Theatre

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Tenacious D 11/24/06 @ UIC Pavilion

Here's a Review From The Chicago Tribune by Bob Gendron, Do You Agree or Disagree?

Tenacious D's ode to outlandishness
By Bob Gendron
Special to the Tribune Published November 27, 2006

Merging elements of Cheech & Chong, "Spinal Tap" and "Wayne's World," and mixing in original dashes of self-conscious irreverence and chest-thumping farce, Tenacious D has become nearly as fabled as the exaggerated rock mythology the duo reverentially lampoons.The cult band's folk-based hard-rock songs feed off the loud-calm dynamic of its plump members, Jack Black and Kyle Gass, actors whose substitute-gym-class-teacher physiques belie their musical competence.

Performing a 110-minute skit-driven concert Friday night at UIC Pavilion just days after the opening of its underwhelming film "The Pick of Destiny," Tenacious D paid tribute to nearly every outlandish heavy-metal convention imaginable, be it dealing with the devil, strumming tear-jerking power ballads or hurling braggadocio boasts.Black and Gass began with an acoustic set staged in the latter's apartment, the guitarists/vocalists goofing with Spanish-accented riding tunes ("History"), a children's toy saxophone ("Saxaboom") and odes to sexual prowess ("Kielbasa"). Despite appearances by the pair's stoner pal, Lee, the potty humor and sketch routines grew stale until Black handed his low-key foil an electric guitar constructed out of dangling wires and a toilet seat, inciting a mock electrocution that killed the duo and sent them to hell, changing the scenery and sparking the pace. Against a steaming volcanic backdrop, Tenacious D and its newly recruited fellowship of pop-culture superstars -- guitarist The Antichrist; drummer Colonel Sanders; bassist Charlie Chaplin -- enlarged their sound, the electricity invoking Black's inner physical-comedy demon. Reveling in his larger-than-life persona, Black took over as an excitable boy whose body-vibrating shakes, clutches-of-evil gestures and snarled expressions complemented his operatic trills and sensitive croon.A true believer, Black vividly embraced his defender-of-faith guise during "The Metal," karate-chop kicking while snarling about how multiple genres attempted to overthrow his favorite style and failed. Soon after, he won a rock-off contest against a step-dancing Satan on "Beelzeboss (The Final Showdown)."Tenacious D took its craft seriously and yet, to make certain nobody in the decent-size crowd thought it was above the outrageous concept, saved the best spoof for its most conceited song. The duo lip-synced the self-referential "Master Exploder," a move that simultaneously acknowledged its admiration of genuine rock gods and deferential status as a fantasy band to which all mortals can relate.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-0611270024nov27,1,1949872.story

Morrissey 11/21/06 @ Aragon

Here's a Review from the Chicago Sun-Times by Jim DeRogatis, Do You Agree or Disagree?

Pop Music Critic From the promoters to the legions of faithful, gladiola-bearing fans, no one was quite sure why Morrissey was playing his only U.S. show this fall at a sold-out Aragon Ballroom on Tuesday night.
Playing up his reputation as an often reclusive and set-upon cult hero -- "So, you see, rumors of my death have been quite exaggerated," he said at the start of the show -- 47-year-old Steven Patrick Morrissey did a handful of dates in Texas and Oklahoma last March when he spoke at the South by Southwest Music Festival. But there has been no proper American tour in support of his eighth solo album, "Ringleader of the Tormentors" -- just this surprising visit to Chicago.
One rumor held that the brief defection of his bass player derailed other U.S. gigs until next spring. Another had it that he simply had a layover at O'Hare while en route from several arena shows in Mexico last week to some upcoming gigs in Greece. Or maybe it was just the unique charm of the Aragon that drew him.
"It's been many, many years since I first played this fabulous venue," the singer said midway through a 90-minute set that was typically emotional in its musical content and wry and sardonic in its stage patter. "It's my pleasure to say they finally have some decent toilet paper, so things are definitely looking up!"
Whatever brought him here, Morrissey was received with the usual rapturous devotion by his Windy City acolytes as he took to a Spartan stage adorned only with a backdrop bearing a giant image of feminist intellectual Gertrude Stein. And as he fronted his impressively tight, massive-sounding and nattily dressed six-piece band, he never sounded in better voice.
Released last April, "Ringleader of the Tormentors" was a disappointingly lackluster effort, and the new songs didn't gain anything in concert. Indeed, the formerly celibate Moz's uncharacteristically randy but joyless "Dear God Please Help Me" ("I've got explosive kegs between my legs") and the ultra-mopey self-parody "Life Is A Pigsty" were even more plodding and sullen onstage than on album.
Thankfully, those low points were far outnumbered by the evening's highs, among them the jaunty opener "Panic"; a wrenching "Disappointed"; a lovely version of the "Viva Hate" nugget "I've Changed My Plea to Guilty"; a splendidly swirling and psychedelic "I Will See You in Far-off Places" and a rollicking romp through "Irish Blood, English Heart."
The American press isn't smart enough to write about him, the ever-misunderstood artiste complained at one point. But that's not fair: We were just waiting for you to finally pay us a visit, Moz.
Specially chosen by the headliner to open all of his recent overseas shows, Kristeen Young is a St. Louis singer, songwriter, keyboardist and vocalist now based in New York. With powerful accompaniment from drummer Baby Jeff White, her personality filled the cavernous and unforgiving space of the Aragon, and the duo came on like an unrelenting version of the Gang of Four fronted by Kate Bush, with a hint of Siouxsie and the Banshees.

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/derogatis/146285,CST-FTR-morr22.article

Primus 11/17/06 @ Aragon

Here's a Review from Chicago Maroon by Pat Skahill, Do You Agree or Disagree?

OK, let’s see: giant inflatable astronauts? Check. A 30-something ex–band camp aficionado red-faced and rocking out on the tuba? Check. Head-banging banjo solos for the 15-year-old shirtless kids to mosh out to? Check. For good measure, let’s add in the relentless chant “Primus sucks!” emanating in perfect unison from an audience where mohawk- laden Slayer disciples and Abercrombie-wearing Dave Matthews buffs can coexist, and you’ll pretty much be convinced that Primus shows are weird.Touring for the first time since 2004, oddball bass virtuoso Les Claypool has finally taken a break from his recent slew of side projects (Frog Brigade, Oysterhead, C2B3) to resurrect the original lineup of Primus (break out the pork soda, Bobby Cock!) with Larry LaLonde on guitar and Tim Alexander on drums. The band is sweeping across America in two months on the irreverently named “Beat a Dead Horse Tour” promoting their new CD, They Can’t All Be Zingers: The Best of Primus, and their new DVD, Blame It on the Fish. Primus’s show at the Aragon Ballroom was a riveting retrospective on the trio’s career that fused Claypool’s newfound proclivity for extended jams with the old-school Primus catalog, giving a fresh face to songs well over a decade old.The show’s opener was Drums & Tuba, a trio from New Orleans that played an interesting brand of ambient progressive rock. Sounds typical, right? I mean, every indie-hipster worth his or her weight in Converse and retro fabric these days can go on and on about how “prog rock” is now coming into popular vogue thanks solely to bands like the ever-hip Mars Volta. Anyway, Drums & Tuba was nothing particularly special, and the only thing that set the band apart was their gimmick of the bass lines being played by a guy on, well, a tuba, who looked something like Star Wars’ Jek Porkins dressed up for a golfing outing with his fellow sons of privilege at the nearest $30,000-a-year country club. Regardless, when that corpulent tuba chap threw his band camp inhibitions to the wind and started furiously spinning on the turntables while simultaneously rocking out on his massive horn, I was impressed, and so was the crowd. Drums & Tuba was well received, and they did a great job of breaking in the audience for when the stage lit up and Primus casually sauntered out.To the trademark chant “Primus sucks!” Les Claypool began thumping away with selections from 1990’s Frizzle Fry, commencing the show with “To Defy the Laws of Tradition,” featuring an extended, and I mean really extended, guitar solo by Larry LaLonde. LaLonde, best known for his extremely tight riffing and intricate scale work, seemed hard pressed to keep up as he feverishly tried to caress a near-eight–minute solo out of his guitar while Les gleefully pumped out backing riff after backing riff on his bass. Claypool, now well known among jam-band aficionados (his 2001 collaboration The Grand Pecking Order with Trey Anastatio of Phish being the most highly revered), seemed at home in this element, but the rest of the band, and the audience, was not. While never really losing the structure of the song, if we can take the progressive dwindling of head banging to be any accurate gauge, Claypool’s trippy musical detour seemed to lose about 90 percent of those in attendance. Still, allowing for more liberal improvisation gave a fresh face to a lot of the songs played and was not, by any means, a bad thing. If anything, Claypool’s readiness to reinterpret his decade-plus old songs demonstrates how he has tangibly matured as a musician outside of Primus.This tour also heavily featured Primus’s 1991 platinum release, Sailing the Seas of Cheese, with the trio playing several tracks including “American Life” and the ever-popular “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver.” After working the crowd up into a chaotic thrashing frenzy, Claypool judged it was proper time to switch to his upright string bass and delight the horde of screaming fans with flawless renditions of the popular favorites “Seas of Cheese” and Pork Soda’s “Mr. Krinkle.” The band was incredibly tight and, outside of a few forays into overly drawn-out solos, Larry LaLonde’s guitar work formed a perfect complement to Claypool’s heavy rhythmic strumming and nonsensical lyrics. LaLonde, just as at home on banjo as on guitar, gave the Chicago audience a nice surprise in the form of a fingerpickin’ banjo solo that had the comical effect of working the mosh pit into an even more outrageous frenzy. I told you Primus shows were strange, right?As seems to be characteristic of the ever-taciturn Tim Alexander, the veteran drummer maintained his somber demeanor as he pounded away and kept the band in spot-on time, carrying the fans through an eclectic mix of Primus which even included a special live treat—Claypool singing his theme to South Park while playing pizzicato on his electric upright. As I walked away from the Aragon, I couldn’t help but admire how well Primus’s music has stood the test of time and how remarkably humble Claypool has remained as a musician. After over 15 years, Primus can still tear a venue to pieces, and Claypool still loves every minute of it. As the audience chanted the slogan “Primus sucks!” Claypool blithely responded in his trademark drawl, “You’ll get no argument from me.”

http://maroon.uchicago.edu/online_edition/voices/2006/11/21/theres-nothing-fishy-about-primuss-extended-solos-at-aragon-ballroom/

Robert Randolph & The Family Band 11/10/06 @ The Riviera

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Alice in Chains 11/8/06 @ Riviera Theatre

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Ziggy Marley 11/4/06 @ Vic Theatre

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Frank Black 11/1/06 @ Metro

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